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Midnight Mint Chocolate Cake

Midnight Mint Chocolate Cake. A dark chocolate easy-to-make scratch cake with layers of peppermint flavoured buttercream frosting and a chocolate glaze finish.

Midnight Mint Chocolate Cake photo of single slice on a white plate with mint garnish

Midnight Mint Chocolate Cake.

This Midnight Mint Chocolate Cake came about as the result of me I recently asking our followers a question over on our rapidly growing Facebook Page. (Like our page Here)

The mission was to suggest a new flavour combination for a layer cake. They came up with some very interesting ideas, more of which I may try later.

Dark Chocolate Chips, to melt and dip the biscotti

I like to use 50% dark chocolate chips for the ganache but you can use semisweet or even chocolate mint chips.

One very obvious combination several commenters and emailers suggested was chocolate mint. I suddenly realized I had never tried this flavour in a cake since I was a kid, experimenting in the kitchen.

Midnight Mint Chocolate Cake photo of finished cake on white pedestal stand

Midnight Mint Chocolate Cake.

So as a return to my experimental youth, I decided a chocolate mint cake it would be. This was an utterly delicious success.

If you are a chocolate mint lover, this is going to be one dangerous cake to have around…irresistible!

You might also like our Midnight Mint Thumbprint Cookies

Midnight Mint Thumbprint Cookies photo with title text for Pinterest

Like this Midnight Mint Chocolate Cake Recipe?

Find many more ideas like this in our Cakes & Pies category.

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Midnight Mint Chocolate Cake photo collage with title text for Pinterest

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Midnight Mint Chocolate Cake photo of single slice on a white plate with mint garnish
Yield: 16 or more servings

Midnight Mint Chocolate Cake

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

This Midnight Mint Chocolate Cake is a delicious combination of dark chocolate cake and creamy mint frosting with a chocolate mint glaze to beautifully finish it.

Ingredients

For the cake batter

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • ¾ cup cocoa
  • 2 tsp . baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup soured milk, milk plus 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar
  • 1 cup black coffee
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the mint frosting

  • 8 cups icing sugar, (i.e. powdered sugar / confectioners sugar)
  • 1 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1 cup butter
  • 6 tbsp milk, approximately
  • 1 tbsp mint extract, NOT artificial mint flavoring

For the chocolate ganache glaze

  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • ¼ cup whipping cream
  • 2 tsp mint extract

Instructions

To prepare the cake batter

  1. Combine all cake batter ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer for 2 minutes.
  2. Pour into 2 greased and floured 8 or 9 inch cake pans.
  3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  4. Cool completely on a wire rack.
  5. When completely cooled, split the two layers horizontally with a serrated bread knife to make 4 layers.

To prepare the mint frosting

  1. Using an electric mixer on low, mix the butter, shortening and icing sugar together until the butter and shortening break up and get evenly dispersed throughout the sugar in small pieces. The mixture will still appear dry at this point. This stage ensures even distribution and prevents butter or shortening lumps in your frosting.
  2. Add the mint extract and a couple of tbsp milk. Add more as needed to bring the frosting to a creamy, spreadable consistency. Both of these liquid measures can be adjusted. The milk can be adjusted to make a thicker frosting by adding less or a more spreadable frosting by adding a little more. Use you own judgement here. The mint extract can be adjusted to your own taste. Add more if you want a more intense mint flavor.
  3. When the icing reaches the desired consistently continue to beat it on high speed for 5 minutes to incorporate more air into the frosting to make it lighter and fluffier.
  4. Frost the middle and sides evenly with the frosting and chill the cake for several hours before adding the chocolate ganache glaze.

To make the chocolate ganache glaze

  1. In a double boiler melt together the chocolate chips, whipping cream and mint extract.
  2. Stir this mix constantly and get it off the heat as soon as the chocolate is melted. You do not want this mixture hot but just luke warm; as close to the melting point as possible. Let it cool down if it gets too hot.
  3. Working as quickly as you can, ( a lazy susan is a big help if you have onpour the ganache directly in the center of the cake, and then using an icing spatula spread it evenly over the top of the cake, letting it drip off the sides.
  4. For butter and/or shortening based frostings like this, I do store the cake in the refrigerator but take it out at least an hour before serving to let the frosting warm up to room temperature. Cold frosting is too hard and letting the cake warm up allows this frosting to return to the creamy texture it is meant to have.

Recommended Products

Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.

Nutrition Information

Yield

16

Serving Size

1 slice

Amount Per Serving Calories 760Total Fat 38gSaturated Fat 16gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 19gCholesterol 68mgSodium 336mgCarbohydrates 105gFiber 2gSugar 86gProtein 5g

The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.

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Duckworth Elisabeth

Tuesday 17th of March 2020

Why the vegetable shortening? Why not just all butter? What does the vegetable shortening add/do for the recipe? Thanks

Barry C. Parsons

Monday 24th of December 2018

Fixed now.

Gayle

Sunday 23rd of December 2018

Not sure the amount of milk, your recipe reads: tbsp Approximately 6 milk Is this 6 TBsp. milk? Thanks.

Gayle

Tuesday 18th of December 2018

Using an electric mixer on low, mix the butter and icing sugar together until the butter and shortening break up and get evenly dispersed throughout the sugar in small pieces. The mixture will still appear dry at this point. This stage ensures even distribution and prevents butter or shortening lumps in your frosting.

Just noticed in Step 1 for the Icing that you seem to have missed adding the shortening to the butter and icing sugar but mention it later.

Barry C. Parsons

Thursday 20th of December 2018

Fixed now.

Becky

Thursday 4th of January 2018

I bought real mint extract...it has more of a spearmint flavor. Should ai get peppermint instead? This cake is for my brothers birthday...he loves Breyers Chocolate Chip Mint Ice cream...not sure what mint they use either???

Barry C. Parsons

Tuesday 13th of March 2018

I think either would be fine.

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